Chidimma Uchegbu
The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) is set to hold an online conference in response to the growing global concern of shortage of qualified teachers and the future of the teaching profession.
Acting Registrar of TRCN, Stella-Maria Nwokeocha disclosed this on Monday, at a press conference ahead of its Annual Online Conference of Registered Teachers in Nigeria held in Abuja.
Nwokeocha recalled that the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, underscored this concern when in 2022 he convened the first ever United Nations Summit on Education, tagged “Transforming Education Summit,” nothing that “Teachers, Teaching and the Teaching Profession” was one of the five sub-themes of the Summit.
Consequently, as a follow-up to the outcomes of the Summit, the Secretary General set up a High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession, which released its report and recommendations this year. It confirmed “a dramatic shortage of teachers worldwide” and the existence of millions of teachers who lack the support, skills and continuing training they need to meet the demands of rapidly changing education systems.”
She said its recommendations, further, called for urgent action to address serious issues in the teaching profession that pertain to pre-service teacher education and continuous professional development.
The TRCN Registrar stated that, Nigeria as the “Giant of Africa”, even in matters of education, had a huge share of the teacher shortage and need for continuous updating of the professional skills and competences of teachers along the lines identified by these evolving global concerns and recommendations.
“This is why the 4th Annual Online Conference of Registered Teachers in Nigeria scheduled to hold on October 16-17, 2024, is a special response to the emerging global continental and national issues of interest to the teaching profession and education in Nigeria.
“Therefore, the theme of the Conference, ‘Advancing Teacher Professionalization in Nigeria Towards Education 2030: Challenges, Strategies and Prospects’ is directly linked to international concerns and will deal with subthemes such as the strategies for quality teaching and lifelong learning; national and international best practices in continuous professional upskilling of teachers especially with respect to knowledge, skills, attitudes, conduct and orientation of teachers; implementation of professional development (PD) credits in advancing teachers along the career stages: institutionalization of the community of practice [COP] within the teaching profession in Nigeria; and fostering of collaborative learning; among others”, she said.
Nwokeocha informed that National and international experts across the specialisations in the teaching profession had been invited to make presentations.
According to her, the Conference initiated in 2021 remains one of the largest gathering platforms of professional teachers in Nigeria where emerging issues in teaching and learning in the 21st century are unraveled and resolved.
“As at today, over 3, 000 persons have registered, and the number is expected to grow further. The Conference will be streamed live on TRCN social media handles and those of UNESCO Nigeria which has greatly provided the technical support.
“TRCN will also set up viewing centers across the FCT, Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Lagos, Oyo and other states where teachers may be willing to assemble and participate. Registration and participation are free for all, and that by participating a teacher will earn 25 PD credits as part of the requirements for the renewal of his or her teaching licence”, she said.
Nwokeocha further stated that TRCN statutory mandate covers all levels of the education system, and both the public and private sectors. Therefore, the Conference was for teachers at the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, whether public or private sector.
She said there was also a critical need for the participation of teacher educators at the faculties of education in the Nigerian universities, colleges of education, and schools of education in the polytechnics.
